An Inspiration.

This past Thursday, my social studies methods class had the opportunity of meeting a woman who is extremely knowledgeable in her field, down to earth, and incredibly empowering. Fay Gore has an amazing and long title as section chief for k-12 Social Studies at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She is also the Character Education Coordinator for North Carolina. This woman has an incredible vision and brings together ideas and tools from schools all over the globe. She shared her recent interactions with educators in Dubai and she was very willing to share what is being done to enrich our students in the United States as well.

Most of her interests are in developing curriculum frameworks that promote hands-on, engaging social studies lessons and this was perfect to tie into our class. Many times, it is hard to fit in social studies with other common core and essential standards that demand our time, and even more difficult to make it actually relate to the child, but she was reassuring us that it is possible. And not only is it possible to fit these standards in, but it is vital to the growth of our students. 

Social studies has become a forgotten subject. After the "No Child Left Behind" policy, 44 percent of districts reported to have reduced time for social studies education. Reducing this time results in lack of vocabulary growth, lack of communication skills, and background knowledge. This all results in  lower literacy levels as well as an increased achievement gap. Rather than restate everything, I will refer you to this article. It directs you to a website packed with benefits of integrating social studies into the curriculum and the importance of doing it correctly.

All this to say, students of today are relying on us as educators to prepare them to be apart of a democratic society. People aren't born with knowledge on how the world works and the history to why things are the way they are. 

Through school, we are able to teach students that they have a voice. Through social studies, we are able to teach them that their voice has power. 

Be the change.

Much love,

Brittany Kertesz

P.S. In case you ever stumble upon this blog, thank you Fay Gore for inspiring us to think harder and deeper! You challenged us today and spoke truth to us about what will soon be expected of us and what our future students deserve. The fact that you took the time to speak to us lowly college students speaks volumes for your character! Thank you again.